In this write up Iâ€™m going to introduce you to the Black Widow Motorcycle Stands. For those of you already familiar with them or the like, this will serve as a reminder to break them out and use them to jack up your Rebel vs. having the spousal unit hold an end of the bike in the air while you work.

For those of you not familiar with them this will be an eye opening solution to a common problem every Rebel owner has; getting your Rebel off the ground to work on it. Itâ€™s a working solution and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how well it does its job. The cost factor, however, will require some mulling and aforementioned spousal unit approval.

Virtually any options youâ€¦ opt for are going to set you back a bit. There are cheap jacks available from Sears, Larin, Pep Boys, and even some clones from Harbor Freight. These types of jacks will get your scoot in the air with some minor modifications. The hydraulic floor jacks need to slide under the Rebel in the center and the first thing they want to do is lift your bike from the exhaust pipes. This is verboten and why the modifications are required. In the end, youâ€™ve got a jack supporting your scoot usually right where you need to work.

If you opt for a quality Larin jack it will cost you as much or more as the solution I chose, while you get a solid jack, the whole concept is still jacked because you need to modify it to work properly. The solution I opted for gives you a working product right out of the box with no modifications necessary and they are out of your way.

The fact of the matter is that you can slap something together at home to get your Rebel in a workable position. Some have created custom wood lifts that do the job, but they are still in the way. One creative user in the forum illustrated the ease at which a bike can be lifted with a hammer. Of course, they need to be as stealthy as a cat burglar.

The alternative, you can have the man in the brown step-van bring you some goodies. For me, I not only like the brown goodie van but I take pleasure in knowing I have some nice looking tools that just get the job done.

Once youâ€™re done ogling the girls, check out the stands and see what you think. I opted for Kit # 2 BW-06-12. Total cost with shipping to me $123.99.

Letâ€™s get startedâ€¦

* Standing room only *

The Honda Rebel can easily accommodate floor stands. Iâ€™ve spent the better part of the last three months contemplating what method I would choose to jack up my Rebel so that I can work on it. Iâ€™ve searched, measured, researched and then when it came time to caring for my chain, I had enough and pulled the trigger on the Black Widows.

I was never sure that the Rebel could be supported by floor stands. There is only one or two posts on Rebel250.com that even mention the idea and while they validated the feasibility, they were not all that informative.

Feasible, yes, 123 easy, not so much and here is the reason for that.

* Rear Stand *

The Rebel has a traditional double sided swingarm which the lift can grab on to. The problem lies in the exhaust pipes as they run nearly side-by-side with the swingarms almost all the way to the rear.

This can make it slightly complicated to get the stand in there. Itâ€™s truly not all that difficult but it does take a little bit of finesse.

* Contact *

In the picture above you can see that the product works as it should but you need to get the lift pad just right. You can also see where the stand comes into contact with the exhaust pipe. It is very slight but the coating on the tube of the stand is gentle on the chrome.

* Quality *

There are some really sweet floor stands out there on the market. So many to choose from with expensive names like: Pit Bull, Steel Horse, and R & R racing. I really like the Pit Bull stands but the cost factor is outrageous.

The Black Widows are surprisingly well made. They look great and are made of strong materials. In the picture above is a shot of the tubing and two of the four nylon wheels that support the front and rear stands. Not bad for $89.99. I do believe in getting what you pay for but in this case, I took the chance and actually got a bit more.

* Front stand method *

There are basically two options available when it comes to lifting your bike from the forks. One option is a sort of double peg cradle method that can certainly do the job. The second method, the one I went with, is the â€œstrutâ€

i have a steel horse rear stand. it was more expensive than the stands you reviewed, but i am quite happy with it. it makes lifting the rear wheel off the ground ridiculously smooth and easy, it's well built, and it will probably outlast my rebel.

I'll have to send the link to my husband. When he lubed the chain, he put the pick up on his stand, and against the exhaust. He told me he knew that probably wasn't the best place to jack it up, but since the pipes were new, it probably shouldn't hurt them. Otherwise, he said he'll have to go to using the floor jack, which would still make the bike shaky.

Yes, I chewed him out. I had notice the stands the other day on your pic of your bike. I didn't notice, but can go back and check, can you cheat and let us know the no.s of the stands you use?

while some things can be done on the floor (rolling out the bike to lube the chain, even adjusting the chain), a lot of things are easier up and some things like wheel removal (for changing a tire/tube/rim strip) can only be done by picking up at least one end of the bike.

btw, one problem with that gadget for the front holding by the bottom of the fork tubes is if you need to REMOVE the fork tubes (to drain on the contemporaries since there is no drain plug or to change out fork seals / dust caps / teflon bushings).

for that, the rear gadget gives a solid two point stand so you can get away with a single point small floor jack with a wood block on top under the engine.

with that three point approach, you may not even need to tie down the front end to rafters, etc.

Now, I have a question about the rear lift. It appears to me that the "L" brackets that you slide under the swingarms are 'loose'. Obviously, they need to be loose so you can maneuver, my concern is whether the bike can shift left or right when you whack it with a sledgehammer or violently remove parts, and get knocked off the stand. Have you had any issues with the bike sliding sideways yet?

I have a steel horse rear stand. it was more expensive than the stands you reviewed, but I am quite happy with it. it makes lifting the rear wheel off the ground ridiculously smooth and easy, it's well built, and it will probably outlast my rebel.

The Steel Horse stands are excellent, no question. I would have gone with SH or Pit Bull had it not been for the money I have been throwing at my bike. That and not being sure if the Black Widows were quality or not.

That was the first ever post I had seen about jacking up the Rebel on the forums. Really had me thinking about creating something. As far as Iâ€™m concerned, there is nothing like being handy and creative. I just didnâ€™t want the end result in my garage. No offense intended. Most of the time I just like to spend money and get new stuff.

SG-1 wrote:

Nice presentation, thanks!

Now, I have a question about the rear lift. It appears to me that the "L" brackets that you slide under the swingarms are 'loose'. Obviously, they need to be loose so you can maneuver, my concern is whether the bike can shift left or right when you whack it with a sledgehammer or violently remove parts, and get knocked off the stand. Have you had any issues with the bike sliding sideways yet?

I would definitely exercise restraint while applying violence to the Rebel. That said, if there is any concern to be had, the front fork stand is the problem area. If you were to crank the handlebars it would pop off the front stand. However, if you are also up on the rear stand your rebel will stay put.

While the Rebel is not a cement truck, itâ€™s heavy enough to stay put on the rear stand and it will not move unless you kick it over.

My advice, always use the rear stand in conjunction with the front stand. You donâ€™t always need both, but if you use the front stand, use the back as well.

Malindor wrote:

jeff schenkel wrote:

I know you are kidding (I think).

Sorry, I do have a rather dry sense of humor and you all don't know me well enough yet.

Yes, it is an excellent write up, and yes I am a nancy-boy too, as I have a hydraulic bike lift...

An here I just thought you were a New Yawka like myself. But, dry sense of humor it is. No problem. I personally have a twisted sense of humor.

jspansel wrote:

Nice!

Dude you should do instructional videos for a living haha. Got the voice and attitude for it! Nicely done

Not A Hog wrote:

Thank you!! That was an awesome 'presentation'. If you aren't doing that for a living, you missed your calling.

Thank you all for the nice comments and votes of confidence for the video. I actually went to school for radio and attended college for television production. I did radio for a few years and TV for not very long at all. In both industries the people are generally awful.

Itâ€™s been a few years since Iâ€™ve picked up a camera or even been in front of one so this is a first in about 4 years, regardless, I am comfortable on either side of it.

I started Lost Wages Productions a number of years ago just to have a label for anything I produced. Lost Wages means; â€œProductions cost and nobody makes a dimeâ€

Warning:The Black Widow lift method will not work as shown on the front end of the Classic Rebel 250 or 450.
The bottom of the fork slider has a thick solid holder block that is held on by two studs that protrude from the bottom of the slider, with nuts on the studs. There is no indentation or hole to put the Black Widow front pin in, on the right side.
A jack or lift placed on the bottom of the fork slider will not allow the nuts and axle retaining plate to be loosened or removed; preventing front wheel removal. Not a good idea anyway to lift by putting pressure on the axle holder on the right side, it is made of aluminum.
Ron

Most paddock stands come with two or more sets of front-end 'holders.' The one I always favored featured two pins, horizontal. The first pin fit under the leading edge of the fork leg, and the second fit up behind the fork (not under it), creating a sort of "cradle" to support the bike.

It allowed full access to the axle bolt, and allowed enough tension relief on the 'pinch' section of the fork to get the axle out with the most minimal 'wiggling' possible.

I think he mentioned in the video that there was at least one more set of attachments. That's probably the one you'd use on the Classics (and most dirtbikes).

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